Hendrix Lapierre did not take the ice in the third period of the Hershey Bears’ game against the Belleville Senators on Sunday.
With Lappy one of the Capitals’ top prospects and the NHL so close to the trade deadline (Friday, March 3), his absence got some attention on social media as some fans wondered if he was taken out of the lineup due to a trade.
It was actually due to an injury Lapierre suffered late in the second period.
Hershey Bears head coach Todd Nelson revealed the news during his postgame presser after the team’s 4-2 loss.
“He has an upper-body injury,” Nelson said of Lapierre. “I haven’t gotten a diagnosis yet from the trainer. I’ll see him (after) the doctors take a look at [Hendrix]. But he definitely couldn’t play. He tried to fight through it but he couldn’t play.”
Lapierre’s timetable to return is unclear. There may be further clarity when the Bears return to practice on Tuesday.
Sunday’s game marked Lapierre’s second since being scratched both games last weekend by Nelson in an attempt to the reset the player.
“Lappy’s sitting out just because right now he’s frustrated,” Nelson said then. “We kind of want to use this as a reset button for him. You know he’s a great kid, a student of the game. We just want him to watch the game from up top, watch the intensity of the players playing. We just feel like his intensity has to rise up and that’s very common with a young player like him.”
Lapierre led the Hershey Bears in both points and goals early in the season but has scuffled some as his rookie season has gone on. The first-round pick has just eight points (2g, 6a) in 17 games since the start of 2023, including one point, an assist, this weekend.
Headline photo: Cara Bahniuk/RMNB
